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HPCompaqLA230

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Houston (Bracewell v. KE/VE/GDC)

Post by HPCompaqLA230 » Wed Feb 12, 2020 3:09 pm

Hello,

I have the opportunity to lateral to Bracewell (interviewed there and really enjoyed everyone I met) for a general corporate/M&A type roll as a junior/midlevel associate. I know a few folks at KE/VE/GDC and think I could at least get an interview at one or more of those shops, but want to understand if it would be worth it.

My goal is a long career in biglaw with partnership in mind. I worked in a different market at a firm similar in size/stature to KE, and have a reasonable idea of what the lifestyle would look like. Is a place like Bracewell actually more "lifestyle" oriented than others? I cannot tell if everything is just smoke and mirrors.

Thank you in advance.

PS - I'm not married to Bracewell, and am open to any suggestions.

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Re: Houston (Bracewell v. KE/VE/GDC)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 12, 2020 3:41 pm

I know people at these firms, and I don't have a sense that Bracewell is more lifestyle/work-life-balance-focused than any other true Texas biglaw firm (including V&E). Definitely get the sense that KE is more intense than other firms in the market. Have you considered Latham, STB, or Baker Botts?

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Re: Houston (Bracewell v. KE/VE/GDC)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 12, 2020 4:12 pm

I work at one of these firms and have friends at all of them and no firm is more "lifestyle" than any other.

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Re: Houston (Bracewell v. KE/VE/GDC)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:01 pm

HPCompaqLA230 wrote:Hello,

I have the opportunity to lateral to Bracewell (interviewed there and really enjoyed everyone I met) for a general corporate/M&A type roll as a junior/midlevel associate. I know a few folks at KE/VE/GDC and think I could at least get an interview at one or more of those shops, but want to understand if it would be worth it.

My goal is a long career in biglaw with partnership in mind. I worked in a different market at a firm similar in size/stature to KE, and have a reasonable idea of what the lifestyle would look like. Is a place like Bracewell actually more "lifestyle" oriented than others? I cannot tell if everything is just smoke and mirrors.

Thank you in advance.

PS - I'm not married to Bracewell, and am open to any suggestions.
I worked at one of KE/VE/Latham/GDC for a number of years in Houston, have friends at most firms around town. You should not go to Bracewell if you have other options. Go to V&E, BB, KE, GDC, Latham or even Sidley. I know a couple associates at Bracewell, and while they work less because there are less deals (many associates over there are not hitting 2000 hours, which means no bonus), they are still going to have the fire drills when they are on deals. The associates are generally operating at a lower level than the other shops because (1) you don't go to Bracewell if you have offers at the others (with rare exception) and (2) they just do less deals so they have less reps behind them as they become more senior. If you want partnership, start at the top of the firm list and when you don't get it lateral down, people do it every year.

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Re: Houston (Bracewell v. KE/VE/GDC)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Feb 12, 2020 5:14 pm

Agreed with others above. If you have the option of KE/VE/GDC, I would go with those over Bracewell.

Also not a fan of the culture at Bracewell (very good 'ol boy compared to the top firms). Don't get me wrong, there are great people and non so great people at all these firms, but Bracewell consistently lags on things like diversity.

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